It’s disgusting – the mere thought that a restaurant could serve lion meat as novelty. What are they even thinking??? To serve meat from an endangered animal that is fighting to survive in the world?
Jeffrey Flocken, North American Director of The International Fund For Animal Welfare, made the following statement:
“It is extremely worrisome to see restaurants across the country promoting the sale and consumption of lion meat. The African lion population already faces many obstacles for survival: a restaurant’s choice to serve up lion meat is simply irresponsible.
As we witnessed at eateries Taco Fusion (Tampa, Florida) and Mokutanya Yakitori (Burlingame, California) in the last couple of weeks, and many other establishments over the last few years, customers respond negatively to publicity ploys like novelty meats. Modern history shows that almost every restaurant serving lion meat has pulled it from their menu as a direct result of public backlash. A recent Synovate poll found that 63 percent of Americans would stop frequenting an establishment if it started serving lion meat.
The African lion population has declined by more than 50 percent over the last three decades, and as few as 32,000 remain in the wild. In March 2011 IFAW, along with a coalition of animal welfare organizations, petitioned the U.S. government to list the African lion as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. If listed, serving African lion meat in the U.S. would be illegal.
Restaurants serving lion meat send a message that they promote exploiting endangered animals. It not only alienates their customers, but it undermines conservation of this iconic species which is already fighting to survive. For any restaurants considering serving the meat of this imperiled species, we urge you to reconsider: African lions must be conserved, not consumed.”
Although I would imagine that most readers of you eat little to no meat – what about fish? When you next go for sushi, remember that many fish are endangered. I highly recommend visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium and downloading their pocket guide, which you can keep in your wallet and refer to when you’re about to order a roll.
